When we see dogs on the street, our hearts go out to them. That is especially true when they are in need, and we may even try to help them somehow.

That certainly was the case with Ruger. He wandered into a garage in Greenville, Tennessee, and immediately fell over. When the homeowner found him, she knew he was in serious trouble because he was so emaciated.

Photo: YouTube/dogfarm100

You have choices when you're up against a situation like this. The homeowner decided to contact Bright Hope Animal Rescue and get professional assistance. They were there before long.

The owners and operators of the rescue, Jason and Amanda Hopson, drove out and took care of Ruger. They had a difficult time because he was so sick, and at one point, they thought that he had died.

Jason spoke to a local news station and said that Ruger was hard and it was almost like petting a skeleton with hair. Eventually, they had to rush him to the Greenville Animal Medical Center, and it was shown that he was starting to bloat. Without emergency surgery, he didn't have much chance of surviving.

Photo: YouTube/dogfarm100

Fortunately, Ruger got through the operation, and the Great Dane mix showed some signs of recovery. When they took him home, he only weighed 48 pounds, but after he was in the ICU and had some meals, he gained a few pounds quickly.

Bright Hope Animal Rescue posted the update on their Facebook page. They said: "I can't put into words what a joy today was. As all of you know, Ruger has a broken body…but we have amazing doctors to fix that. But what many of you don't know as we haven't really shared is that his spirit was also broken. He has not had any life in his eyes and really just didn't get any enjoyment out of anything. This is heartbreaking to try so hard to get the life back into the eyes of his broken soul to no avail. We sadly thought that he may be so broken that it may not come back."

They went on to talk about how he had a spark, and they could see that he was enjoying life. Ruger was a dog that wanted to live. He loved having his head scratched in the lobby, and he even played with the bone for a while.

With a little TLC, his ribs are beginning to disappear, and he is gaining muscle. Even with only a mild weight gain, they can see the improvement.

The rescue said, "He spends his days walking around the vet clinic building muscle, enjoying head scratches, and all the healthy food he needs. He walks when he wants and then takes a nap and then goes back to work walking and building those muscles. He will disappear and you can call "Ruger" and he will come wandering out of a random room he has been exploring."

Photo: YouTube/dogfarm100

They gave a shout-out to the Animal Medical Center of Greenville, expressing their gratitude to the staff and doctors. Ruger was allowed to move in and live there until he was stable enough to go elsewhere.

Best of all, Ruger enjoyed a lot of TLC. It was needed, as there were several severe medical conditions that he was facing, but it seemed as if he was coming through them nicely.

Unfortunately, they then found a mass on his pituitary gland and they couldn't operate on it. When it started hemorrhaging, they realized that Ruger was in serious trouble. He passed away in the arms of his new family, surrounded by a lot of love at the veterinary clinic.

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